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Sharks just miss gold at home tourney

The St. Mary Sharks came up just short of capturing the 32nd annual W.J. Kallal Senior Boys Basketball Tournament title at the Rotary Spirit Centre Feb. 9-10, losing out to Gerard Redmond Community Catholic School 50-43.
St. Mary Shark Connor Tymkow takes to the air during a 98-23 blowout win over Boyle School during the W.J. Kallal Memorial Senior Boys Basketball Tournament at the Rotary
St. Mary Shark Connor Tymkow takes to the air during a 98-23 blowout win over Boyle School during the W.J. Kallal Memorial Senior Boys Basketball Tournament at the Rotary Spirit Centre Feb. 9.

The St. Mary Sharks came up just short of capturing the 32nd annual W.J. Kallal Senior Boys Basketball Tournament title at the Rotary Spirit Centre Feb. 9-10, losing out to Gerard Redmond Community Catholic School 50-43.

This is the closest the club has come to winning their home tournament since they were last declared champions in 2004. To get to the final the Sharks dismantled Boyle School 98-23 and then beat Christian Covenant Reformed School 55-47 at the eight-team event,

“It was just one of those games,” said head coach Darcy Romanuik. “Everything was fine for us yesterday, but this morning we were fighting ourselves offensively. We just couldn’t score to save our life.”

The loss drops the Sharks from second to third in the Alberta School Athletic Association’s North Central 1A Zone rankings, which will impact the team’s seeding when they host the zone finals March 9-10.

Despite the let down, Romanuik noted that there were several positives they pulled from the tournament — most prominently was the fact that even though they brought their “B game” to the weekend, they only narrowly missed the championship.

“We didn’t play very well and we only lost by seven points,” he said. “Had we played to our potential, I think we would have won that game. But nothing comes easy and we’re a young team. We have to earn our victories so that was a valuable life lesson for them.”

Things are winding down for the St. Mary Sharks as they head to Camrose this weekend to play their last regular season tournament before zones. Following Romanuik said he was trying to arrange an exhibition game.

Across the court, the R.F. Staples Junior Varsity team dropped a two-point decision (48-46) to Boyle School in the consolation final.

Coming off the heels of hosting their own tournament the weekend before where they finished fifth out of seven, head coach Lee Germann had nothing but good things to say, noting that they were doing exceedingly well for a rookie team.

“We’ve got players from Jarvie, Dapp and Fawcett, who have never played together,” he said.

“They’re starting to meld as a team and individuals, so I’m happy with their performance.”

For him, the key things the T-Birds need to work on are their basics.

“It’s all stepping stone for them to build their love of the sport,” he said.

“Everything’s good. I’m very happy with the group of kids that I’ve got.”

There will be no rest for the young T-Birds. This weekend they’re off to New Sarepta for a tournament before heading to Drayton Valley for another one Feb. 23-24.

The extra practice will be a boon to the boys, with JV zone championships go in Barrhead March 2-3.

The W. J. Kallal Senior Boys Basketball Tournament is named in honour of the long-time school trustee.

Kallal served for 25 years and had a large part to play in the foundation of St. Mary School.

For Romanuik, hosting the event is an honour.

“This is my 29th year of running this tournament,” he said.

“My gym is named after (Kallal.) They’ve pretty much started Catholic education in Westlock, so it’s been a proud tradition.”

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